If you’ve applied to dozens of jobs and heard nothing back, the problem often isn’t your experience — it’s that your resume never reached a human. Over 90% of large companies in the US, UK, and Canada now use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to filter resumes before a recruiter ever sees them. Here’s how to make sure yours gets through.
1. Stick to ATS-Readable Formatting
ATS software parses text, not design. Avoid:
- Tables, text boxes, and multi-column layouts
- Headers/footers containing contact info (many systems skip these)
- Graphics, icons, or photos
- Fancy fonts — stick to Calibri, Arial, or Georgia
Use standard section headers: “Work Experience,” “Education,” “Skills” — not creative alternatives like “My Journey.”
2. Mirror the Job Description’s Language
ATS ranks resumes by keyword match. If the posting says “project management” and you wrote “managed projects,” some systems won’t connect the two. Pull 8–10 exact phrases from the job description — tools, certifications, job titles — and work them naturally into your bullets.
3. Use Reverse-Chronological Order
It’s the only format every ATS parses reliably. Functional or skills-based resumes confuse the parsing logic and often scramble your work history on the recruiter’s end.
4. Quantify Every Bullet Point
ATS scoring aside, recruiters skim in under 8 seconds. Replace vague statements with numbers:
- ❌ “Responsible for improving sales”
- ✅ “Grew regional sales 34% in 9 months by restructuring the outbound pipeline”
5. Save as .docx, Not PDF (Usually)
Counterintuitively, some older ATS platforms still misread PDFs. Unless the application explicitly asks for PDF, .docx is the safer default in the US and UK.
6. Tailor for Every Application
A generic resume sent to 50 jobs will underperform 10 tailored ones. Keep a master resume, then adjust keywords and the top third of the page per role.
The Bottom Line
Passing the ATS is table stakes — it gets you in front of a human. Getting the interview still comes down to clear, quantified, relevant experience. If you want a resume professionally optimized for both ATS systems and human recruiters, Jobs Innovators reviews resumes for free before you commit to a rewrite.
Get a free resume review- Submit Resume